Peg West: Seeing a sense of community through high school students

This
week, a couple of events involving high school students have stuck with me as a
true showing of what it is to be a community, in good times and tougher ones.

The
32nd annual West Michigan Student Showcase not only highlighted the wide range
of talent among young people here, but also the spirit of camaraderie that accompanies
the competition.

During the show at the Frauenthal Center for the
Performing Arts, audience members clapped along for some musical performances
to show their support, and cheered wildly when the students concluded their
acts

I
am struck when I go to these performances at how cool it is for these students
to shine in a community venue, and a community event.

All
of the students from the 30 competing high schools are recognized for their
efforts in the literary arts and visual arts; those in the performing arts
segments presented on the Frauenthal stage everything from dancing to singing
to reciting monologues.

Meanwhile,
some athletes from Muskegon Heights showed they understood the bigger picture
beyond a game. The images and words from the Muskegon Heights Academy's
semifinal loss in boys basketball to Pewamo-Westphalia helped show that beyond
the crushing defeat when they've come this far, these kids were carrying an extra
burden.

They
wanted to positively represent a community that has seen such turmoil since an
emergency manager was installed for Muskegon Heights Public Schools and a new
charter district eventually was created.

What
hasn't diminished through all of this is the Muskegon Heights vaunted Tiger
Pride, and these students were helping to carry on that tradition as they
worked their way through the post season.

When
their run came to an end this past week, the images captured by multi-media
specialist Ken Stevens of the players' disappointment were particularly
poignant. We all have seen photos showing the emotion of defeat, but there
seemed to be an extra layer of anguish as we saw photos of kids being
comforted.

Indeed,
as sports writer Mark Opfermann wrote in his column following the game, they
were feeling extra pressure to win for a school and entire community facing
tough scrutiny. As Opfermann noted, that is a lot of weight for teenagers to
bear.

This quote from coach Del Stewart nicely summed
it up: "This has been a wonderful, wonderful year for us. ... I know
they're feeling hurt, but this was a little more than a basketball game for us
because of all the things that's gone on in our city and school district the
last couple of years," he said. "The championship they did win today was bring
hope to despair in terms of how people felt about the school, the district, the
city and they were the shining bright spot. They've gone beyond measure what a
state title could have done. So they're my champions."